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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28956498">Juno Steel and the Feline's Gift</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/cy_owns_this_whorehouse/pseuds/cy_owns_this_whorehouse'>cy_owns_this_whorehouse</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Hello, Juno Here. What the Fuck is Going On. [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Penumbra Podcast, Welcome to Night Vale</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cecil is Patient (Welcome to Night Vale), Crossover, Hurt Peter Nureyev, Hurt/Comfort, Juno Steel Needs a Hug, Junoverse | Juno Steel Universe, Life in Night Vale, Light Angst, M/M, Mild Gore, Mommy Issues, Nonbinary Juno Steel, Other, POV Juno Steel, Panic Attacks, Serious Injuries, Typical Night Vale Weirdness, carlos and cecil become juno's parents even though they're only like 4 years older than him, carlos is a dilf, juno has mommy issues, juno's many misadventures give me life, khoshekh is a brat and steals The Lettertm, peter nureyev's letter, the distortion now belongs to me, very light mentions of the magnus archives</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 05:54:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,107</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28956498</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/cy_owns_this_whorehouse/pseuds/cy_owns_this_whorehouse</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Juno chases a cat and ends up in the past, somehow. But it's...nice.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Carlos/Cecil Palmer, Juno Steel &amp; Cecil Palmer, Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel, Rita &amp; Juno Steel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Hello, Juno Here. What the Fuck is Going On. [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2171886</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>61</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>108</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this is right after Juno Steel and the Dragon's Den for timing context.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>He started the day out by chasing a cat. Again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The little bastard was a big black thing, with dual stingers and six eyes and a big row of spines along its back, just like any other cat, really. Except, it had a little piece of paper clutched in its mouth and was running at full pelt across the rooftops. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Get back here, you monster, that thing’s important to me!” Juno roared, almost twisting his ankle as he hopped a gap between rooftops and tripped. He had to scrabble at the slanted tiles for a few precious seconds to get his footing again, and the cat just watched, gnawing on the corner of the paper and swishing its tail as it waited for him to start chasing it again like this was all some sort of game. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno growled. “You stay right there,” he said, his voice cracking since he was starting to get a bit winded. Definitely not from anything else. He’d almost fallen out of a top floor window for that letter, damn it, it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>being stolen by a little mutt of a street cat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The cat just raised its spines and took a few steps backwards, then hopped off the opposite edge of the roof. Juno yelped and took off after it, cresting the roof and very nearly toppling over once again. The roof was </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>steep, and it was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>long fall. He had to concentrate very hard in order to not be sick. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The cat was waiting for him on the next roof, which was blessedly flat, but Juno would have to slide down in order to jump onto it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno swallowed thickly, shaking his head. “You’re a real jerk, you know that? You just </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>to take the only thing I have left of him. Jesus,” he muttered to himself as he slowly sat down on the tiles, intent on sliding down with his thick trench coat to take the brunt of the slicing from sharp roof tiles. For a second, it looked like the cat grinned at him, and then he slipped. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His foot caught on something, he wasn’t sure what it was, but he started sliding and couldn’t stop. He couldn’t help it, he screamed-- his voice cracking heavily somewhere in the middle as he shot down the slick tiles. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He slid on his side, desperately grabbing for a hold, but he was going too fast and all that was happening was a lot of tearing skin and fabric and splashing blood and loud, very un-ladylike shrieking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Juno expected to shoot off the edge of the roof and go plummeting to his death just like Yasmin Swift from last week (wouldn’t that be ironic, but probably just what he deserved), but somehow, his fingertips caught the edge of the gutter and he swung, jerking one of his shoulders out of his socket with a howl of pain but incredibly, somehow, alive. He almost sobbed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck, fucking fuck fuck </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he whimpered, the fingers of his right hand starting to tremble with the pain in his shoulder and the fingers of his left hand already going numb with holding up the entirety of his bulky weight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey-- can you at least put that letter in my pocket so I can die with it?” Juno rasped, even though he had no idea if the cat was even still there. He didn’t get a response, which was what he had expected, though it filled him with a cold sense of disappointment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was this really how it had to fucking happen? After everything he survived, he just dropped off a roof after chasing Peter Nureyev (well, his letter, at least) one last time before breaking his neck on the dirty floor of some alley? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t even call Rita since he didn’t have a free hand. That was almost even more depressing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Almost. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno’s right arm trembled twice, violently, and his hand slipped off the gutter. He made a strangled sort of gasp and tightened his left fingers, twisting his head to see if he could see the cat. It was sitting on the edge of the roof, staring at him with impassive blank eyes, the edges of the letter in its mouth fluttering in the gentle breeze dancing around the rooftops. Juno stared back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Things seemed to slow down just a bit right then, as if the universe wanted to take just a second longer to laugh at the fate of Juno Steel. He felt the wind brush through his sweat drenched curls, felt blood slowly run its course down his hands, his chest, his leg, felt the muscles in his arm start to strain and weaken. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please,” he said quietly, holding out his free hand to the cat despite the pain that wracked his shoulder and neck when he raised it. Juno had no idea what he was begging for-- the letter, a helping hand, or one last gentle touch before he fell to his death. He’d take any of the above at the moment, honestly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The cat did none of these things, instead it bunched up, wiggled, and jumped on his injured shoulder. Juno wailed in pain and the shock made him lose his grip, and man and cat plummeted to the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they fell, a thousand things ran through Juno’s mind, and he finally understood the phrase “my whole life flashed before my eyes.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He saw everything he regretted-- not saying hi to Rita this morning, pushing Yasmin, not being better to Mick, never finishing his contract with Ramses, leaving Peter Nureyev all alone in that cold bed-- everything he lost-- his eye, Ben, Annie, his skills, his heart and, sure, the letter. He closed his eyes and tried to push it all out, thinking instead of the sharp-toothed but so lovedrunk smile that Peter Nureyev had given him when he’d realized Juno hadn’t died in that Martian explosion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno thought that was a fitting memory to end his life on, somehow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wrapped his arms around the cat, curling around it so that maybe, at least, he would cushion its fall and it would survive. It may have gotten them into this mess, may have killed him, but it didn’t deserve to die. Juno pressed his cheek against its soft, slightly sticky fur and waited, waited for the impact…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>…that never came. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At least, not in the biblical sense. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instead, it felt like Juno had only fallen from a few feet onto carpet. It knocked the wind out of him, sure, but it wasn’t bone shatteringly devastating like he’d been planning on. It hurt like good hell since it had jarred his shoulder pretty badly, but other than that, it wasn’t bad, really. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ow,” he muttered, letting his arms fall open and the cat hopped out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, my,” a voice said mildly from somewhere by his feet. “Dear listeners, this just in-- a man has appeared right here in my studio, out of the air. That must be what Intern Lee was talking about when he was rambling on about space and time being bent in odd ways today because of his aunt being in town-- oh, how exciting!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno opened his eyes. “What the hell?” he asked no one in particular. He was lying on the floor of what looked like a radio studio, at least judging by the dark ceiling above, the large glass wall on the right, and the eerie red glow from the ON AIR sign above his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“--dark and beautiful, holding a cat that is now tangling itself around my ankles, oh how </span>
  <em>
    <span>cute!</span>
  </em>
  <span> However, he does look terribly injured, so while I take care of this, I take you now-- to The Weather.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Music filled the studio and a man suddenly bent over Juno’s head. He was tall and thin, with dark messy hair that had streaks of grey at the temples, very pale skin, and wide, blank lilac eyes. Three of them. One was blinking in the middle of his forehead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello,” the man said pleasantly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello,” Juno croaked out. The man’s smile widened and he knelt down, placing a very soft, barely there hand on Juno’s unhurt shoulder and helped him up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Intern Lee warned me this might happen, but he never mentioned anything about the apparitions being injured. Shame on him, honestly,” the man tutted, and Juno felt wildly lightheaded when he looked down and saw some of the man's tattoos shift. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck me,” he groaned, wrestling the urge to be sick further down than before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, thank you,” the man said politely, pulling a phone out of his back pocket and dialing a number. “I already have someone special,” he beamed, and Juno suddenly wanted very much to disappear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello? Carlos? Oh, dearest Carlos, I’m calling for personal reasons,” the man said into the phone, his smile widening as a flush spreads across his pale cheeks. “Yes, yes, oh you are? Oh, how splendid! Please get here quickly, I fear he may pass out,” the man said, his blush deepening when he hung up the phone. “A newcomer, but very handy with bandages,” the man explained to Juno with a wink. Juno didn’t think he was supposed to understand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” is all he said, he didn’t have the energy for anything else. Except-- “Where am I?” he managed to choke out. “Who are you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! How terribly rude of me,” the man said, frowning. “My name is Cecil Gershwin-Palmer, and you’re in the lovely desert town of Night Vale. How did you get here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Okay, so they were to the point of switching questions. Juno could handle that, but his head felt like it was filled with cotton. “I fell off a roof. Who’s Carlos?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A very lovely man with very lovely hair,” Cecil sighed, practically swooning. Juno’s chest twisted. “What’s your name?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Juno Steel,” Juno said slowly. “I’m a private eye. I’ve never heard of Night Vale, where is it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is it on the other side of Mars or what?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mars?” Cecil said, and laughed. “We’re on Earth, dear Juno. In the year 2012. I get the sense that you aren’t from around here, then.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno’s head span. According to Cecil, he’d just travelled back in time very nearly 500 years. “Shit,” he said quietly. Cecil only looked mildly concerned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can you stand? Just for a second, I’d like to get you into that chair,” Cecil asked, pointing to the really rather comfortable chair seated before his desk. Juno just grunted non committedly and struggled to his feet, clutching Cecil’s arm heavily for support until he collapsed heavily in the chair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks,” he said, and the cat hopped up onto the desk. “You’re horrible,” Juno told it, and it delicately dropped Peter’s letter into his lap. Juno would never admit it, but he felt tears well up in his real eye as he snatched the letter up and clutched it to his chest, his head dropping with relief. Cecil said nothing about it, just leaned against the edge of the desk and scratched between the cat’s ears with long, blue painted nails. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The studio door opened, and Juno’s head jerked up with an involuntary wince of pain. The man in the doorway looked apologetic. “Sorry, didn’t mean to disturb,” he said in a gentle voice that somehow put every fried nerve in Juno’s body at ease, and he sagged into the chair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Carlos, you’re just in time,” Cecil said, the delight in his voice very obvious. Juno would have snorted if he wasn’t so tired, it was obvious that Cecil was completely smitten with the man in the doorway. Carlos. And honestly, Juno couldn’t blame him. Carlos was indeed lovely, tall and bronze skinned with a mane of dark hair that curled over the collar of his lab coat. Even the streaks of silver in his hair just made him look all the more dignified. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is Juno Steel,” Cecil supplied, and Juno managed to wave a few fingers without letting go of the letter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hi,” Carlos said, shutting the door behind him as he walked over and set the first aid kit he was carrying down on Cecil’s desk. “Can you take off your clothes, please?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno made a soft noise that he didn’t really understand in the back of his throat, glancing between the two of them, who were looking at him expectantly. “Look, I appreciate the suggestion and I mean, I’ll try anything once, but this doesn’t really seem like the time--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So I can sew you up, Mr. Steel,” Carlos said in what was probably an attempt to smoothly cover up Juno’s poor defense mechanism, but his ears were red and poor Cecil had turned pinker that a highlighter with tattoos to match. Juno hadn’t noticed them glow before but they were glowing like the sign outside the Vixen Valley.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Juno reluctantly conceded, and started stripping. Or at least, he tried to, and got a little stuck around the arms. His breath started coming in short, painful pants, and Carlos stepped forward to help him out of his trench coat. However, they both knew that his turtleneck wasn’t being pulled over his head anytime soon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re not attached to that shirt, are you?” Carlos asked, pulling out a pair of scissors. Juno was, kind of, but he didn’t say it. He favored his shoulder more than his shirt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” he said, glancing up at Cecil, who was no longer watching but was absorbed in chatting with the cat in some foreign language that had probably died out in around 2345. Either that or it just wasn’t spoken on Mars. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cold scissors pressed against his skin and he hissed, but Carlos just pursed his lips and quickly cut away the sleeves of his shirt. “Definitely dislocated,” he said once he got a good look at Juno’s swollen, mottled red and purple shoulder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No way,” Juno said, sarcasm dripping from every vowel. Carlos looked up at Cecil. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Cecil, could you do that thing you do to distract him?” He asked, and Cecil looked only too happy to comply. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course!” he cried, and bent down to stare Juno in the eye. Juno didn’t know how he did that without pupils, and his forehead itched with the stare of his third, but he couldn’t look away. Something around Juno started to glow but Cecil’s face was pressed too close to his to see what it was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Juno...oh, what an exciting life you live! I think I’d like to meet this Peter, he seems quite lovely. Oh, Rita would spend weeks talking to the Erika’s, they’re terrible gossips, they would fill each other with news for years to come. Oh, Juno…” he trails off for a moment, and his blank eyes look sad. “You--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a crack that came from Juno’s shoulder and the pain that flooded his body was overwhelming. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“AH!” he howled, back arching so far off the chair he nearly topples himself. “FUCK!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry,” Carlos apologized, and once Juno got his vision back, he began to breathe a little easier as the pain faded from his shoulder. Carlos had shoved it back into place while Cecil was reading his mind, and while it didn’t hurt so bad anymore, it would definitely be sore for days to come. He tentatively rolled his shoulder and was relieved to find that it could still move just as easily as before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks,” he murmured, and Carlos gave him a soft smile. Cecil looked the tiniest bit upset at that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure. I’ll clean up the rest of you now,” he said, and knelt down to get to work. Juno looked up at Cecil, since Carlos didn’t seem inclined to talk while he was working. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“How did you do that?” Juno demanded, and Cecil tilted his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do what?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Read my mind. I know you didn’t swallow a Martian pill like me because you aren’t bleeding from the face, and what the hell was that glow?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! You mean this?” Cecil said, and his eyes started to glow. A soft ringing filled the air, and a crown of five glowing purple eyes suddenly wreathed his head like some demented crown. Juno felt his skin split down the middle and he could feel Cecil </span>
  <em>
    <span>read </span>
  </em>
  <span>him like a book he picked up off of a shelf, before the ringing and glowing faded and Cecil beamed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s called Knowing,” Cecil said proudly. “Just a little trick I picked up off of a certain patron of mine. I know everything about you, sorry about that. It’s just that you’re very open once you get past the first few layers.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno couldn’t even say anything to that, just stare at Cecil and wonder, </span>
  <em>
    <span>what the fuck. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It should have made him incredibly uncomfortable to know that Cecil had all of his information on file, his whole past and his mistakes and his failures and </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything,</span>
  </em>
  <span> but oddly enough, he found that he didn’t mind. He knew, somehow, that Cecil would take good care of it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Through all of this, he hadn’t quite noticed that Carlos was cleaning out his various gashes and scrapes, until the man stood up. “Pants, now, if you could? You’ve got some nasty looking cuts on your hip.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carlos had to help him struggle out of his pants as well, which was a bit embarrassing seeing as he was wearing that pair of Perry the Platypus patterned underwear that Rita had given him last Christmas. He wouldn’t apologize for loving that vintage show. Neither men commented on it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cecil very suddenly put the heel of his bright blue boot on the edge of Juno’s chair and pushed him away a few feet, with Carlos sighing and following after. “Terribly sorry, my show is starting again,” Cecil said, snapping a pair of headphones over his ears and immediately starting to talk into the ancient looking microphone on the desk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The cat hopped onto Cecil’s shoulders, curling around them and settling down with an evil little smirk at Juno, who scoffed and looked away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno turned his gaze back to Carlos, suddenly registering the way Carlos’s soft hands were gently pressed to Juno’s inner thigh as he cleaned roofing gravel out of the incredibly scuffed up skin of Juno’s hip. Juno didn’t blush easily, but he was blushing now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“S-so, Carlos, are you and Cecil…” Juno trailed off, glancing at Cecil to make sure he couldn’t hear them. That would be embarrassing. “Together?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Carlos said, pausing so he could look up, then shook his head. “Oh, no. We’re just friends,” he said lightly, pressing bandages to Juno’s hip and taping them down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Juno said, glancing at Cecil again. Didn’t seem like that to him, but he wasn’t going to pry. He hated getting in other people’s business. “What did Cecil mean when he called you a newcomer?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carlos, who had finished all the bandaging he could do, sat back on his heels and wiped blood off of his hands with a wet wipe. “I’ve only lived in Night Vale for a few weeks,” he explained. “It’s...hard to get here. This place is odd, it doesn’t really work. Most people are born, live, and die here, and for a new person to come along is pretty uncommon. I used to live in Washington.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno had no idea what Washington was and he wasn’t inclined to ask. “Why are you here, then?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carlos actually smiled at that. “Night Vale is the most scientifically fascinating place in the world that I’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever</span>
  </em>
  <span> heard of,” he says with relish, putting his hands on his hips. He didn’t elaborate, and Juno just pulled on his coat as a response. His turtleneck was missing a sleeve and his pants were torn to shreds, so this would have to do. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...goodnight, Night Vale, goodnight,” came Cecil’s deep, admittedly gorgeous voice from behind them, and the ON AIR sign suddenly switched off. Cecil set his headphones onto the desk and picked up the cat. Carlos took a polite step back with a sniff. Cecil didn’t appear to notice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve named him Khoshekh,” Cecil said with a grin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s wonderful,” Carlos said. Juno couldn’t care less, he still very much resented that cat. Cecil crossed the floor to stand in front of Juno. He was quite a bit taller than the detective, and it reminded him painfully of Peter. He cleared his throat to get rid of the lump.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, any idea of how I could get home?” Juno asked delicately, glancing between the both of them. Cecil frowned and put a long fingertip to his chin, and Carlos immediately pulled out a small notebook and started scribbling in it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I suppose we could ask Intern Lee, but he’s gone home for the night,” Cecil said slowly. “Oh, Juno, won’t you stay with me tonight? I hate the idea of you going back to that cold apartment while you’re injured. I’m sure Rita would take wonderful care of you, but she’s gone home and won’t see you until the morning,” he said, his voice insistent. “We can find a way to get you back in the morning.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno wanted to decline, he didn’t like the idea of sleeping in a stranger’s house from five hundred years ago, but he also just...didn’t want to go home. He was </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>tired. His shoulders slumped, and he nodded. “Sure. Whatever.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got to get back to the lab,” Carlos said, packing up his kit. “I need to study Lee’s aunt. This is </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>cool. Text me tomorrow?” he asked Cecil, and Cecil’s tattoos turned a rather flattering shade of rose. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Cecil said, waving Carlos off. The cat, Khoshekh, yowled at him as he left. Cecil sighed dreamily, but when Juno wavered and almost fell over, he jumped to his side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry, Juno, here I am going on about things that don’t even matter and you’re bleeding out on my studio floor,” he lamented, and Juno laughed but it was hazy and rough around the edges. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No problem,” he rasped, and Cecil clucked his tongue at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s get you home,” he decided. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno didn’t remember getting in a car, but suddenly they were on the road, Khoshekh floating (floating?) above their heads as Cecil drove down darkened desert roads. There was no sound except for the hum of the engine, Khoshekh’s purring, and Cecil’s very quiet humming, and it was very peaceful and warm in the car. Juno felt his eyelids start to droop…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>…Then Cecil was setting him down in a soft bed and covering him with a warm blanket that smelled like spiced fruit, and Juno stirred sleepily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where are you going to sleep?” was the first thing that popped into his head, because any bed that smelled like this couldn’t be a guest bed. Cecil laughed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t sleep, you silly thing,” Cecil said, as if it should have been obvious. “But you need to. Just relax, Juno. You’re safe here,” he said in a voice that sounded like a river, cool and soothing and strong enough to pull Juno under. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was asleep a moment later, feeling more relaxed than he had been since that cold hotel bed.</span>
</p><p><br/>-------------<br/><br/></p><p>
  <span>“Get up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The voice was rough, calloused, and Juno grunted in protest. The toe of a shoe suddenly drove into the sole of his boot, and Juno sat up so fast he nearly got whiplash. Sunlight nearly blinded him as he squinted up at the man, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the sunlight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can’t sleep here, buddy,” the guy, who looked like a cop, said. Juno felt something in his chest twist and he looked around, all frantic-like. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where--” he looked up, and sure enough, he could make out his blood smeared on the gutter of the roof above him. He was back in the alley under the rooftops he’d chased Khoshekh across. “What the hell,” he muttered. Was he dead?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No, he wasn’t dead. He rolled his shoulder. It was sore, but it didn’t hurt. He looked down. Perry the Platypus boxers and bandages placed by dark, gentle hands on his leg. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So Cecil and Carlos hadn’t been a very nice near death experience he’d had. He must have gone to sleep then Lee’s aunt or whatever it was had sent him back. The thought almost made him sad. He’d kind of liked Night Vale, or at least, the people in it. Not the cat, though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He suddenly jumped and frantically patted himself down, heart racing, until he put his hand in one of his inside pockets and touched the edge of the letter. He sighed in relief. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you not hear me?” the cop snapped, and Juno scoffed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Loud and clear, buddy,” he snapped back, standing up and brushing himself off with as much dignity as a lady in boxers and a ruined turtleneck could muster. Then he pushed his way past the cop and headed home. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On his way, he couldn’t stop thinking about them. They were both probably long dead by now, and he couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to them. Had Cecil confessed? Had they progressed, maybe gotten married? Or had Carlos finished his research and moved back to Washington, and Cecil, broken-hearted, had tried to move on?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno didn’t know why the thought made him sick (he is rather thick). He’d prefer to imagine that they’d gotten married, grown old together, and gotten buried in a joint grave with their beloved cat in the middle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe he could visit their graves. That sounded like a nice vacation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d bring it up with Rita when he got home, he decided as he trudged home in the Martian sunlight. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Juno returns to Night Vale.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>um listen this probably isn't very cohesive but I just finished season two and I'm a complete emotional wreck</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Juno needed a fucking break. Too much had happened, too much that should have broken a lesser man but only made Juno very, very tired. New Town was puttering along as nicely as it could and Juno was...at a loss. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was nothing really for him anymore. I mean, there was </span>
  <em>
    <span>one </span>
  </em>
  <span>thing, but that was very, very last resort and he didn’t want to think about it for longer than a few minutes right about now. So, he figured out part of his comms, did a little research, and booked two tickets on a flight to Earth. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>------------</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Rita, are you packed?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hold </span>
  <em>
    <span>on </span>
  </em>
  <span>Mistah Steel, I haven’t decided which streams I wanna pack! I can’t pick between </span>
  <em>
    <span>Midnight Valley, Diamond Erosion</span>
  </em>
  <span>, or--oh! The evah classic </span>
  <em>
    <span>Werewolves in Orbit!!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Rita, we’re only going to be gone for a couple of weeks. They have streams on the flight.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> Mistah Steel, but what if they aren’t as good??” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Rita.</span>
  </em>
  <span> We’re going to miss our flight.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw alright alright, I’m comin’.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>--------------</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Even with the advanced technology of their time, it still took almost two weeks to get to Earth from Mars. The flight sucked, Juno had nothing to do but sleep and sit alone with his thoughts. He refused to think about Ramses, even when the comms were full of him, because with every thought he just kept going round and back to </span>
  <em>
    <span>what could I have said differently?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And Juno didn’t have an answer to that question. He wanted to scream at him, yell and fight and probably have a fit but… what good would that have done? The past was the past and as much as it ruined Juno completely, it couldn’t be changed. Benten was dead. Sarah Steel was dead. And now, Ramses O’Flaherty… Jack Takano, was dead too. Nothing could bring them back.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno just had to get that into his head, but it was proving harder than he thought. Sometimes he </span>
  <em>
    <span>swore </span>
  </em>
  <span>he could hear their voices in his head. At one of these times, he just sighed at himself and tilted his head against the cool glass of the thick windows and closed his eyes, letting it soothe the headache that was near constant these days. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t know if this “vacation” would help anything. They’d been dead for centuries, there was really no point. Hell, he’d only met them once, how was he still hung up on them?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That was a question he </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>know the answer to. They had been soft, gentle with him, in a way that no one had been in a very long time. Patient, and kind, if, albeit, a little weird. Maybe a lot weird. But wonderful, all the same. Juno wanted to pay his respects, at least. If he could find them. He hadn’t even thought of that. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But when the ship landed and Juno practically tripped on himself getting out of there to get a lungful of fresh air, he felt a little better about their chances. He didn’t know why, but maybe it was the unradiated air and warm sun glinting off his skin that made him feel quite a bit better. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, where we headed, Mistah Steel?” Rita said from his side, clutching the handle of her massive suitcase tightly. Juno only had a barely full backpack. He shrugged. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rita squinted. “Whaddya mean, you don’t know?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean I have no idea where Night Vale even is, Rita. All I know is that it’s in a desert in Southwest America. That’s all I got from my research. It kind of...doesn’t really exist outside of myth. Hell, I don’t even know if they’re buried there,” Juno sighed, but he walked off anyway, intent on getting a car. He’d drive until he found it, he didn’t care what it took. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know boss, I could probably find it for ya,” Rita said brightly, trotting along beside him. Juno shoved his hands in his pockets. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure, Rita, go for it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She immediately started tapping away on her comms, barely pausing as Juno rented a car and hustled her into the passenger seat. She was humming as she did so, and Juno just started driving. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They’d landed on the coast, he knew that, so the way to drive was east. That’s where he headed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Several minutes later, Rita shook her head. “I’m sorry boss, but I can’t find nothin’ on this Night Vale place, it’s like it doesn’t even exist! Where did you find out where it was, again?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno shifted uncomfortably. If Rita couldn’t find it, then how the hell had he?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know. I just looked it up, and there it was. Vague, I mean, but it was there.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh,” is all Rita said, narrowing her eyes further and starting to tap furiously on her comms. Juno continued to drive in silence, letting her do her thing. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>How the hell </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> he found it? There was no way it could only show up for him and not for Rita. I mean, it wouldn’t be the weirdest thing that had ever happened to him, but it was still pretty odd and kind of freaky to be honest. Unless… Night Vale… wanted him back? Juno knew that places could have a certain type of sentience, in a way. Some places, like the Tower in New Town, were just fucking evil. Some, like Rita’s apartment, were warm and welcoming, like an old friend’s hug. And some, like his office, just held cold indifference. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe Night Vale was like Rita’s. Warm and welcoming. It had certainly felt that way for the brief time he was there. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Boss?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hm? Yeah?” Juno asked, breaking out of his brief dissociation. Rita tilted her head at her comms. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Was that guy’s name Carlos *********?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno’s brain fuzzed pleasantly when she tried to say Carlos’s last name, and his chest tightened uncomfortably when it reminded him of the Soul. He shuddered, shoving that thought to the deepest recesses of his brain where he’d never have to think about it again. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, yeah, I think so.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, boss, you’re not gonna like this.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Like what?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He went missing in 2012, boss. They nevah found him. He was pronounced dead in 2014, Mistah Steel. They didn’t even find a body.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno was quiet for a long time after that. His hands tightened on the steering wheel, knuckles going white. “Oh,” was all he said. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So Carlos had died just 2 years after Juno met him. He’d been dust for centuries, then. Not even a body… what happened to Cecil, then? Juno didn’t want to think about it. Didn’t want to think about Cecil’s warm lilac eyes going completely empty, didn’t want to think about that gentle heart of his breaking in two the way Juno knew it had after Carlos died. He felt sick. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe they were together now. Juno didn’t really believe in an afterlife, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t exist to someone else. Juno’s chest burned and he realized that he kind of wanted to cry at the thought, though he couldn’t exactly place why. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mistah Steel?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Shouldn’t we still be on the coast?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re in the desert, boss.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rita was right. Endless sand suddenly stretched out in front of them, even though Juno could have sworn that there had been trees there a second earlier. It was getting dark but the sand glittered under the headlights of their car, reflecting the stars slowly materializing above. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno’s chest continued to ache. That was the </span>
  <em>
    <span>only </span>
  </em>
  <span>thing he’d managed to forget up until now, the only thing he’d managed to stow safely away until he saw all those glittering stars and grains of sand. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Was he happy, up there, where he belonged? </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno let out a shaky breath, and suddenly, there was a glowing haze on the edge of the horizon, like a city in the distance. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But what caught Juno’s eye was the red dot against the horizon, a tiny glowing light that blinked cheerfully in the growing darkness. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A radio tower. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my god,” Juno murmured, and Rita’s eyes nearly bugged out of her skull. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, my god,” she parroted in a hushed tone, her voice ragged on the edges. “Mistah Steel! Is that it?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think so,” Juno said, and stepped on the gas. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They practically flew across the desert road, too excited to slow down. The edge of an abandoned car lot came into view first, with demolished and rusted cars littering the sand. There was a small house out there too, the lights were on and there was a large, winged creature out front, reaching up for the porchlight. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rita was making very excited noises that were reaching a pitch only dogs could hear at this point, and Juno’s heart had sunk into his stomach with nerves. His grip hadn’t loosened on the steering wheel, and his fingers were starting to go numb. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno slowed down once they were within the actual city limits. Neon lights glowed all around, not unlike the streets of the Cerberus Province. It was familiar, and it opened its arms to Juno and welcomed him in. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He felt his nerves ease. There was nothing to be afraid of, here. Not that he knew of, at least. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, where are we headed to now, boss?” Rita said, though she didn’t pull her nose away from the glass. Juno frowned. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not sure, Rita. I guess we could try to find a cemetery or something…” he trailed off. There was a tug in the pit of his stomach, and he made a left turn at the next light.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know where we’re goin’?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Not a clue, Rita. I just...have a feeling.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh well alright boss, just try not to get us too lost, okay? Oh, this reminds me of this one stream I watched, where this theologist guy found a weird desert town, just like this one, but full of monsters!! He couldn’t get out but eventually he fell in love with one of the monsters who was actually very nice and they…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno stopped listening at that point, focusing instead on the pull in his gut. This town was leading him somewhere, he was sure of that, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly where. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That is, until they were stopped in front of a small building with a large tower blinking just behind it. The building was sleek and dark purple, with neat lilac lettering above the door that said </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>NIGHT VALE COMMUNITY RADIO</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With the stencil of an eye above the door. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno felt his throat close up with emotion, and he sighed. “We’re here, Rita.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rita was quiet. She looked very nervous. “Okay,” she said, and they got out of the car.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Before they could move away from the car or even close the doors, the door to the radio station opened and a man stepped out. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He looked entirely different, but somehow, Juno could tell. Could tell that this tall, blonde, tawny skinned man with eyes the color of lavender static was Cecil.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Juno!” the man crowed, and Juno knew. That deep, insistent voice like distant highway traffic was unmistakable, and Juno grinned. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Cecil.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cecil all but leapt down the stairs and gathered Juno up into his arms, tucking Juno tightly into his warm body. Juno swore at himself when he started to cry at the first touch of Cecil’s arms, admonishing himself for being soft, but when Cecil gently shushes him and runs a hand through Juno’s thick curls, Juno wrapped his arms around Cecil’s skinny waist and started to cry in earnest. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, my dear Juno, I’m so sorry,” Cecil murmured against Juno’s hair, and Juno didn’t even have to ask how Cecil knew. It wasn’t even Cecil’s special power, it was just that Juno’s face showed it all. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cecil held him for a while longer, waiting until Juno had regained his breath and his thoughts, then pulled away and gently patted him on the cheek. “Juno, we’re being quite rude,” he chided, then abandoned Juno quite completely so he could shake Rita’s hand enthusiastically. “Hello! You must be Rita, I know </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> about you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Y’do?” Rita squeaked, obviously feeling a little overwhelmed. It wasn’t often you met someone with three static sockets in place of eyes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why yes, Juno told me all about you last time he was here,” Cecil said smoothly, even though it wasn’t quite true since Cecil had basically pulled the information out of Juno’s skull. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh!” Rita squawks, and looked rather proud of herself. “Well thank you, Mistah Steel, that was very nice.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cecil grinned, and reached back to take Juno by the hand. “You can leave your car here until morning, I’m sure it will be just fine overnight. You two are coming home with me, alright? I’ve been waiting for you to come back and visit for </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>long, you know,” he said in a slightly peeved tone to Juno, who made a face. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Cecil, I went back to the past. In my time, I’ve only known about you for a few months.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No excuse, really,” Cecil huffed, packing them both(and Rita’s massive suitcase) into his car before getting in himself. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Cecil…” Juno started, then stopped after a second because he didn’t really know how to phrase the question. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m immortal, Juno. I’ve been in my 40’s for as long as I can remember, and will likely be until the end of days. Does that answer your question?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno felt faint, and he slumped against the vinyl of the passenger seat. “Um, yeah, I guess it does.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cecil grinned again as they drove through soft neon streets. “Wonderful.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That answered one question. It was a little stunning to find Cecil alive and well after centuries, but Juno didn’t have the coherence to be surprised at the moment. Weirder things had happened. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t think about the Martian bomb, and he definitely didn’t think about the other question that plagued his mind. He didn’t want to know why Cecil’s lips curved into a soft, slightly pointed smile. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno didn’t remember much of the drive to Cecil’s place, just like the first time, though he suspected that it was simply meant to be that way. It was all just a blur of lights and sand and glittering stars until suddenly they were in front of a small, pleasant looking cape cod style house with a wild garden out front. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno hadn’t really thought that Cecil actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>lived</span>
  </em>
  <span> somewhere, and certainly not a place that looked so...so </span>
  <em>
    <span>domestic. </span>
  </em>
  <span>They piled out of the car, and Cecil grinned at them both like he was sharing a private joke before he flounced up the stairs and the door opened with his touch on the windowpane. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Carlos, my love, I’m home,” Cecil crooned into the house, and Juno felt his steps falter up the walkway. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mistah Steel, are we about to meet a ghost?” Rita said fearfully from where she was frozen right beside him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope not,” Juno muttered, but now he wasn’t so sure. Carlos was </span>
  <em>
    <span>dead.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He had to be. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But the man who joined Cecil in the doorway looked as flesh and blood as either of them, even if he did have several new streaks of grey in his dark hair, a beard, and laughter lines around his soft brown eyes. He wrapped his arms around Cecil and pressed a kiss to his mouth that was so full of unadulterated love and devotion that Juno heard Rita sniffle beside him and he had to take a moment to catch his breath. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Welcome home,” Carlos said, then his eyes fell upon Juno and Rita. His eyes widened, but he smiled, wide and welcoming. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Juno,” he said, stepping off the porch and gathering Juno into his arms in a much gentler fashion than Cecil. “It’s been so long.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Juno stuttered, feeling like he was about to cry again as he wrapped his arms around Carlos and leaned his head against his chest. “C-Carlos, how are you-- I mean, shouldn’t you be--”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dead? Juno, do you really think my husband would have let me stay mortal when he wasn’t?” Carlos said, casting a fond look over his shoulder at Cecil. His… husband. Wow.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So...you guys got hitched, huh,” Juno said in a faint voice. Carlos had moved on to making his introductions with Rita, and Cecil had appeared back at Juno’s side. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Indeed we did,” Cecil said, the static in his eyes softening as he watched Carlos wheel Rita’s suitcase up to the house. “We’re coming up on our 516th anniversary next week.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” Juno said faintly as Cecil ushered him inside and shut the door behind them. The inside of their home was lovely, obviously done in Cecil’s style with purples, greys, dark greens and dark wood. Colors that shouldn’t really go together but end up looking very nice. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Coffee? Tea? Orange milk?” Cecil offered, his third eye sliding shut after a moment, like he was tired. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh...coffee, thanks,” Juno said, still peering around their home. Cecil vanished into the kitchen, and Rita and Carlos were already on the couch, with Rita talking a blue streak and Carlos intently scribbling down notes like Rita was the most interesting scientific anomaly in existence. It took Juno a second to realize that they were talking about the Soul, and Juno felt his stomach turn as he looked quickly away. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cecil pressed a mug into his hand just then, looking sympathetic in a way that Juno hated. He wrapped his hands around the mug, which said “NIGHT VALE COMMUNITY RADIO” in fluorescent letters on the side, and sank into one of the shiny green stools at the kitchen counter. Cecil took a seat beside him, dipping his long pinky finger into his own black mug. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Juno, would you like to talk about it?” Cecil said, carefully stirring the liquid with his finger. Juno sucked in a breath and shook his head, taking a hasty sip of his coffee for something to do. It wasn’t hot, but the flavors were weird, like avocado and white chocolate mixed with the coffee. It wasn’t bad, really, but it was definitely… different.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cecil nodded like he understood. “You’re not ready. That’s alright, it’s alright, you’ve been through very heavy trauma and it’s understandable to keep it all tucked tight until you can let it out without being hurt again. It’s alright, Juno. You’re safe here, I won’t use my Knowing, and no one here will talk about it until you come to us. Alright?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno didn’t even realize that he was crying again until two drops splash into his mug. He closes his eye, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring this all on you guys. I don’t want to be a burden.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Juno!” Cecil sounded shocked, and a little disappointed. “You are </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>a burden, you are a guest in my home and I am very fond of you. We all have traumas, Juno, they’re not your fault. Come here.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno practically fell into Cecil’s arms this time, he hadn’t realized just how touch starved he’d been until he was around Cecil, who just oozed familiarity and comfort. He got hugged by Rita all the time, and hers were nice, but Cecil was different. He wasn’t much older than Juno himself, strictly speaking, but it was… paternal. Almost like Cecil was… parenting him. What a weird feeling. Juno never knew his dad, never knew if he even existed, and somehow...there was a pit in Juno’s chest that was slowly filling up. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Goddamn daddy issues. Mommy issues? Parental issues, he decided on. No one had ever acted this...compassionate with him before. It was even better than last time, Juno decided, with his face pressed into Cecil’s chest and his arms tight around him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But Juno was still tired. So, profoundly, achingly, bone-deeply tired and no matter how many hugs he got from Cecil or Carlos, he was starting to feel like it wouldn’t be fixed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Juno, you feel like you haven’t slept in weeks,” Cecil murmured against his ear, and Juno laughed, soft but bitter. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, kind of been busy.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Juno.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I set up the guest bedroom for Rita, and you’ll be taking our son’s old room. I saw you coming, you know, that’s why I sent the desert out to meet you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno didn’t really register the fact that Cecil could apparently manipulate sand, instead he focused on “you had a son?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes!” Cecil said proudly, clapping his hands together. “Esteban. Carlos and I adopted him many years ago, and since he’s some type of vampire subspecies, he’s only just now heading to college. He’s such a sweet boy, you should meet him while you’re here!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah,” Juno said. “Alright.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cecil smiled brightly at him, and that same proud look on his face when he had talked about his son was still in his eyes when he looked at Juno. Yep, he was definitely trying to parent him. Juno didn’t really mind. He’d missed that kind of warm regard from… from him. Ramses. Juno oddly didn’t feel as afraid to say his name anymore. It couldn’t reach him, not here. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Come along Juno, Rita, to bed with you two.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rita whined, she evidently wasn’t done with the story she’d been telling Carlos (who still looked absolutely fascinated, though Juno didn’t know how), but Carlos made a quick promise that they’d continue the story tomorrow and she flounced off to bed with no further complaint. It was Cecil who trailed after her to make sure she was comfortable, and Carlos stayed behind with Juno. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Carlos?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How did you and Cecil get together?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah.” Carlos looked thoughtful for a good while, stroking the grey streaks in his beard as they walked down the hall to what would be Juno’s room for the duration of their stay. “Well, actually, he confessed he fell in love with me on live radio my very first day in town, and I’ll confess, it kind of caught me off guard for a while. But… as I grew to know him over the course of my first year in town, I realized… I had kind of fallen in love with him too. He wasn’t at all what I’d expected from my first impression, but he’s a very good man and I love him more than I’ve ever loved anything else,” Carlos finished, leaning on the doorframe of his son’s old bedroom. Juno wasn’t much shorter than Carlos, but with all this discussion of love he suddenly felt very, very small. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m...glad it worked out,” he said finally, nodding. Carlos smiled. “I’d been hoping you had.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Carlos put a hand on his shoulder. “It’ll work out for you, too, Juno. Not just whoever you’re pining over, but everything else. Everything works out in the end, even if you don’t believe it will. Get some sleep, Juno. Sleep pretty much fixes everything.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Carlos squeezed his shoulder and left, rejoining his husband at the end of the hall with an arm around his waist and a smile, and the two disappeared into their room. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno stood there in the doorway for who knows how long, feeling… empty. It was great here, really great, and he was glad he was here but… for some reason, the longer they stayed the more out of place he felt. The town wasn’t making him feel like that, he knew that much, it was just himself. Just Juno, feeling messed up and lost as per usual. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, though, he dragged himself off to bed and slept like the dead. He dreamt of the stars and something he could reach but not quite touch, and a soft, musical laugh drifting through his ears.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-----------</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In the end, they only stayed a week. Juno got restless, fidgety, like he knew there was somewhere else he had to be. Night Vale wasn’t what he was supposed to be doing, and they all knew that. So, at the end of the week, Rita booked them a flight back and they made their goodbyes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rita was off saying goodbye to the angels that lived with a nurse named Jocelyn in the old car park, and Juno was sitting on the hood of his rental car at the station next to Cecil. Juno had his hands tucked into the pockets of his trench coat and they were both staring out across the city, watching the neon signs and the headlights from cars down below blink in and out of the darkness. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I ask you something?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Anything, Juno.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The first time I ‘visited…’ what exactly happened? I know it was Lee’s aunt but… how did she do it?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno didn’t know why he was asking that question instead of the billion other things burning racing stripes around the edge of his skull, but he had been wondering for months now. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh! Her. Yes, Lee’s aunt Helen. She was a very tricky being, rather mischievous, loved displacing people from their rightful places and depositing them somewhere else if she thought she could get a kick out of it. She’s dead now, of course, another user of my patron, er, </span>
  <em>
    <span>combusted</span>
  </em>
  <span> her. So you won’t be getting any help from her, I’m afraid.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cecil looked thoughtful for a moment, a few strands of blonde hair brushing over his face. His third eye blinked rapidly to get rid of them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“However, I think there might be a… well, a reincarnation of sorts of her hanging around nowadays. I suppose even Jon couldn’t kill the Spiral completely. I believe it calls itself Salem, these days.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh. So, say I made friends with this...Salem, then I could come here anytime I like?” Juno asked curiously. He may not belong in Night Vale, but he didn’t want to leave it behind, either. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, Juno, that’s a lovely idea! I’ll see if I can track it down,” Cecil said with a grin as Rita came trotting back up the road with Carlos in tow, tears running down her face. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, boss, do we </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> to go?” she sniffled. She was clutching a light bulb for some reason. Juno sighed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, Rita, we do. I’m sorry, but we don’t belong here. We can still come back and visit, though.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rita brightened. “Oh, do you mean it, Mistah Steel? I wanna come back and visit all the time!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Not all the time, we don’t have the creds for that, Rita.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Then we’ll get another job! You can’t keep me away from this place, Mistah Steel!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno shook his head with a soft sigh, but he was smiling. “Sure, Rita. We’ll figure something out.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He stood up off the hood of the car, and Carlos held his arms out. They embraced, and Juno closed his eye to allow himself to feel that warm compassion one more time. “Don’t be a stranger, okay?” Carlos said into his hair, and Juno snorted. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I doubt you could keep us away if you tried.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Carlos let him go and the second Juno turned around to hug Cecil, he heard an </span>
  <em>
    <span>oof</span>
  </em>
  <span> behind him which probably meant that Rita had tackled Carlos into one of her signature bear hugs. Juno just laughed softly to himself and let Cecil envelop him in warmth. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll miss you,” Juno mumbled, when he was sure only Cecil could hear. Cecil squeezed him tightly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We aren’t that far away. I’ll keep an eye on you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno scoffed in good nature. “Thank god.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cecil chuckled and let him go, patting his cheek very gently before stepping away to allow the two of them to get in the car.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Goodbye, Juno, Rita. It’s been lovely,” Cecil said, looking a little wistful as Rita got into the passenger seat, still crying. Carlos wrapped his arm around his husband’s waist and Cecil leaned into him, waving as Juno got into the car. Juno sat there for a moment, staring down at the steering wheel, before he cleared his throat and looked up, waving back as he reversed down the road. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As they drove, Juno felt that now familiar ache in his chest start up again, like he was leaving something important behind. It hurt, but not as bad as he expected. He knew he could come back and get it at any time.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That was real nice, Mistah Steel,” Rita said quietly from beside him. Juno let out a slow, drawn out breath. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, it was, wasn’t it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They drove in silence after that, lost in their own thoughts until the desert slowly gave way to massive trees and, eventually, an airstrip. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Juno kept his eyes fixed on the east the entire time they were taking off, as if he could almost see distant city lights glittering on the sand like stars. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-------------</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Two days into their return journey, Juno could see no point in putting it off any further.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He called Buddy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>also it's my fic and I can introduce the magnus archives if I so choose it's not my fault I'm hyperfixating so intensely (also ps comment if you want a part 3 that includes Peter and possibly some of the magnus cast, though that can be saved for a different au)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Part 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Juno returns to Night Vale under rather unfortunate circumstances.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>all I will say about this chapter is....it's my fic and I do what I like I suppose</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>They had fucked up. They had fucked up </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span> bad. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They had a job to do on Earth, something in Europe that should have been far enough away that no one would recognize them, but someone knew Peter </span>
  <em>
    <span>somehow</span>
  </em>
  <span> (Peter claimed not to recognize them, but Juno knew the sick look in his boyfriend’s eyes) and from there on, it all went sideways. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A lot of things had happened in quick succession that Juno could barely keep track of and now Juno was bleeding from a clipped wound on his skull and Peter was collapsed in his arms on the floor of Buddy’s ship with a jagged knife wound in his stomach and fear in his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno’s dress that he’d been wearing was covered in blood from when he’d carried Peter back to the ship, and the sharp scent filled his nose until there was nothing but static and the smell of blood filling his head and he couldn’t focus on anything but the silvery-scarlet puddle on the floor of the docking bay.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now Juno’s hands were shaking as they’d never shaken before and his chest was tight and he couldn’t breathe and he could barely see and Peter was looking at him with dark eyes that were so, </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>afraid and it was Ben all over again and--</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peter made a strangled sound of pain when Juno accidentally pressed the jacket he’d been using to mop up the blood too hard into his stomach, and Juno’s hands jerked back with panic. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck,” he muttered and tried to apply more even pressure. Peter attempted to not complain, but the way he hissed between his sharp teeth made Juno almost sob with desperation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The doors slid open and thank </span>
  <em>
    <span>god;</span>
  </em>
  <span> it was Jet who stepped in, his normally impassive expression slipping a little with surprise. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Juno--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“America,” Juno spat out, though he didn’t know where the words were coming from because there was a vice on his lungs that logically shouldn’t allow him to speak. “Take us to America. He’ll send the desert to meet us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jet didn’t question him and left to tell Buddy immediately, and Juno was glad of that because if he had to waste time in explaining himself now, he’d fucking die right alongside Peter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peter shuddered in his arms and Juno felt a bolt of horror rush through his body, and even though it was already drenched in his lover’s blood he pressed his jacket harder to the wound anyway, as if he could stop the life draining out of him with that stupid ragged trench-coat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck, stay with me Nureyev, please </span>
  <em>
    <span>please God stay with me--</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Water splashed onto Peter’s pale, stricken face. Juno was sobbing, everything was crumbling around him and he just couldn’t help it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peter’s icy hand found its way into Juno’s blood-soaked one, tightening around his fingers. “Juno,” he whispered, and Juno’s head jerked up, his one good eye flicking between Peter’s two much too bright ones. “Juno don’t, I’m--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shut up,” Juno said with more venom than he’d ever heard himself use in his life. “Don’t you </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking</span>
  </em>
  <span> say it. You’re going to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peter giggled. Juno didn’t see what was so fucking funny about what was happening right now. Then he could hear Buddy yell something about a desert from far above them, carrying through the vents, and Juno felt the clamp around his ribs ease slightly. They could fix this. Carlos and Cecil would fix this, they </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>to.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The landing wasn’t pretty. They jolted pretty hard, being in the hurry that they were in, and the scream that was ripped out of Peter’s throat when they touched down that roughly made every fucking nerve in Juno’s body light up with pure anguish.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Juno whimpered in a sort of mantra, both to himself and to his lover. It was okay. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be okay. What the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> was Juno without Peter, he was fucking everything to him how could he--</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Juno, there are two men waiting for us.” Jet’s deep voice broke through the mist that was threatening to drag Juno down by the ankles, and he looked up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let them in, </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck, </span>
  </em>
  <span>hurry!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was the sound of a scuffle, people moving and doors opening, and other things that Juno didn’t really register around the ringing in his ears. Then dark hands are on his, easing them away from Peter, and Juno panicked with being moved away from him, but then he looked up into Carlos Palmer’s face and he knew everything was going to be okay from that moment on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let me take care of him, Juno,” Carlos said, and Juno let someone else gently tug him away from Peter even though it felt like a part of himself was being ripped out the further away he got. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s clean you up, Juno,” a deep, lovely voice said into his ear. “Carlos knows what he’s doing. Peter will be just fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno looked around and saw Cecil, who yet again looked very different from the last time he saw him. He really only registered skin darker than his and locs that brushed against his hands where they were pressing to Cecil’s chest before he looked up into those lavender static eyes and immediately blacked out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Juno woke up much later, there was a warm body next to his. He turned his head and his nose brushed against something soft, like skin. He looked up into Peter’s pale face, dark hair in delicate waves against the pillow, and breathed for the first time in what felt like days. He didn’t know who’d put him in bed with Peter, but he would be forever grateful that they did. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno sat up, taking a minute to stare at him. There were bandages wrapping his entire torso, stark white against his skin with a hint of blood seeping through. Juno was nearly sick when he saw it, his shoulders shaking, so he turned his gaze onto his lover’s face. Peter was obviously in pain, that much was apparent from the tightness around his eyes, but at least he didn’t look like Death had its hands on his shoulders anymore. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He lowered his hands and gently combed his fingers through Peter’s messy hair, brushing it away from his face because he knew how much Peter hated to look anything but impeccable and shuddered when he felt Peter’s warm breath brush over his palm. That was the breaking point. Juno dropped his head onto Peter’s chest and began to sob, from fear and relief and stress, his hands clutching Peter’s shoulders too tight and tears running hot onto the bare skin of Peter’s collar. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minutes, hours, possibly days could have gone past while Juno laid there, head curled against the thin collar bone of his lover with his hands pressed tight against his neck so his pulse wouldn’t be lost. Every brush of Peter’s breath against his curls was a gift, every rise of his chest against Juno’s throat was like the kiss of life. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Waxing poetics aside, Juno was just really fucking happy Peter was alive. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! You’re awake,” someone said from the door, and Juno lurched as he looked up. Carlos was in the doorway, which is when Juno realized that at some point when he’d been asleep, they’d moved from the ship to Night Vale, and Peter was currently asleep in Esteban’s room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Juno croaked, his voice exhausted from lack of sleep and from the events of the night. Carlos gave him a gentle smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good, that’s good. Are you feeling okay? You were a little feverish when we brought you here.” Carlos crossed the room and placed the back of his hand against Juno’s forehead. Juno closed his eye against the brief touch, then Carlos nodded and pulled away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You feel much better now. I’m going to put it down as extreme distress.” He sat down in the chair next to the bed that Juno hadn’t noticed before, peering around Juno at Peter’s bandages. “Would I be right in assuming that this is the ‘Peter’ that’s been mentioned a few times?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno shifted, rubbing at the back of his neck and casting his eyes back down to Peter’s face. “Yeah. It’s him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carlos laced his fingers together. The gentle smile didn’t leave his face. “You seem happier, Juno. Stabbing aside, you’re doing better, aren’t you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno still felt shaky, and more than a little weepy, but he nodded. The corners of his mouth even went so far as to twitch into some faint semblance of a smile. Carlos knew how to make light of a situation. “I guess you could say that. We’ve...made amends. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ve </span>
  </em>
  <span>made amends.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good,” Carlos said quietly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They sat together in companionable silence for a while, listening to Peter breathe softly from his place on the bed. Eventually, Carlos stood, putting a hand on Juno’s shoulder. </span>
  <span><br/>
<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you need to go talk with your crew. Cecil attempted to explain things, but… well. You know how he gets when he’s distressed. And he’s been very distressed while waiting for you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Got it,” Juno said, but he didn’t move. He didn’t think he could. His hand had found its way into Peter’s, his skin thankfully warm but the way it was limp in his grasp made something inside him tense to the breaking point. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Juno,” Carlos said, curling a hand around Juno’s wrist. “He’s okay. I made sure of it. He lost a lot of blood, yes, but transfusions aren’t hard to come by nowadays. It wasn’t a severe wound. He’s going to be just fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno’s breath shook when he exhaled, his head tipping back to thump very softly against Carlos’s broad chest. “Thank you,” he muttered, and Carlos huffed a soft laugh as he brushed Juno’s hair away from his forehead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s special to you, Juno.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He offered no clarification, and Juno asked for none. Instead, he stood, brushed the barest tips of his fingers over Peter’s sharp cheekbone, and left the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was no small feat. The second he’d stepped out of the room and closed the door, Juno fell against the wall and a small sob choked his throat. He covered his mouth with his hand, shoulders shaking. He knew he </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> that Peter was going to be fine, but Juno had thought that he would never have to go through something like that again and it </span>
  <em>
    <span>ruined </span>
  </em>
  <span>him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logically he should have known that that wasn’t something to hope for in their line of work, but being caught up with being...well, being together again, and this time for what seemed like good, it had really rather blinded him to the fact that danger was still holding his hand every step of the way and he’d let that make him careless. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And that’s where Cecil found him. Slumped against the wall, shaking, hand pressed tight to his mouth like he was about to be sick. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Juno,” Cecil murmured, and Juno collapsed into him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cecil half carried, half supported Juno into what must have been his and Carlos’s bedroom for some reason, sitting him on the edge of the bed but not letting go. Juno didn’t cry once he was there, his shaking had stopped but for the tremor in his lungs, and he allowed himself to relax into Cecil’s side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cecil said nothing, just let them sit there in silence, resting against each other for as long as Juno needed. But Juno had already had several long moments he needed to let it sink in, to let himself know that Peter was going to live was going to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>okay,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and besides, he had another question.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Cecil, why do you always look different?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cecil actually giggled. “I get bored sometimes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It explained absolutely nothing and yet Juno found he somehow understood. I mean, Cecil was an immortal, who wouldn’t get bored after a while?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see,” he said carefully. Cecil smiled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s the spirit,” he said absently, patting Juno’s shoulder….with something that wasn’t an arm because both of Cecil’s hands were still firmly planted on the bed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ah. Tentacles. How...lovely. There were four of them, dark purple, curling neatly from under the hem of his atrociously patterned Hawaiian shirt around his hips. One of them was draped over Juno’s shoulder, which he found he didn’t really mind all that much. It was new, but at least it wasn’t slimy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I should talk to my crew,” Juno sighed, though he balked at the thought. He wasn’t ready to talk to them about Night Vale, his ‘second family’--</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Rita has it covered, don’t you worry about it,” Cecil said in a breezy voice, flapping a hand at Juno with a broad smile. “She may take a while to get to the point, but she’ll make it anyway, I’m sure.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Juno dropped onto his back on the lilac and green sheets, staring at the ceiling. Cecil laid next to him after a moment, resting his chin on his hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you thinking about, Juno?” He asked, and Juno sighed, rubbing his cheek just under the line of his eyepatch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Have you ever lost anyone, Cecil?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cecil went quiet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve lost a lot of people, Juno,” he finally said after a long moment, his voice soft. It shook a little around the edges. “Being immortal has its perks, yes, but that also means I’ve outlived many, many people I’ve considered very close.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno winced. “I’m sorry, Cecil, I didn’t mean--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know what you meant, Juno. You want someone to understand the loss you feel. It’s alright.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno shook his head. “But I didn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>lose </span>
  </em>
  <span>him, he’s okay, I just--” he took a shaky, frustrated breath, digging a hand into his hair. </span>
  <span><br/>
<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you almost did. And given that he’s the most important person to you, it will take its toll,” Cecil said smoothly, reaching over and gently untangling Juno’s hand from his thick curls so he wouldn’t snarl them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno let Cecil run thin fingers through his hair for a while, letting the cold tingle of Cecil’s skin soothe the headache that was threatening to surface. Then he shook his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I won’t lose him again, Cecil. I can’t.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cecil just smiled sadly down at him, the static swirling in languid circles in his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, my dear Juno. I’m afraid that that just isn’t up to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He got up from the bed, leaving Juno reeling. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>that, but he could at least try-- soft fabric was pushed into his hands, and Cecil squeezed his wrist to break him out of it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Juno. Relax. Take a few deep breaths for me, alright? Breathe in…” Cecil inhaled long and slow, and Juno struggled to do the same through lungs that were filled with cotton. Cecil exhaled and started over, forcing Juno to pull air slowly into his lungs to stave off the panic attack that was ever swirling beneath his skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry,” Juno said once his lungs were clear, and Cecil shook his head.</span>
  <span></span><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s nothing to be sorry for. Now change your clothes, you can still smell his blood on you and that, I think, is why you’re freaking out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno looked down and sure enough, his silvery dress was still dark with dried blood. Juno exhaled shakily, slamming his eyes shut and refusing to open them again and see. “Can I use your shower?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course, Juno.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cecil led him into a small green-panelled bathroom, fresh clothes clutched in his hands, and over to a shower that wasn’t surrounded by glass but Juno honestly didn’t know what was swirling around the actual shower space so he deigned to call it “weird glass.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There are fresh towels under the sink. Come find me when you’re done.” Cecil smiled gently at him before he left, leaving Juno alone to drench himself in hot water and steam rather than blood. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>----------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peter still wasn’t awake when Juno got out of the shower. He was dressed in what he assumed to be Carlos’s clothes, since they were somewhat normal looking, just a pair of black sweatpants and a flannel patterned t-shirt. They smelled like Carlos’s spiced cologne, and Juno missed Peter’s smell that usually clung to him almost immediately. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cecil hadn’t been around when Juno had left the bathroom, and he knew that Cecil had urged him to come find him, but he wanted to see Peter first. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His lover’s expression had eased if only slightly, and he seemed to be breathing easier. Juno sat at the head of the bed next to his head, reaching a hand down to absently card through Peter’s silken hair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stayed there for a long time, just trying to get it into his head that he wasn’t going to lose Peter anytime soon. He knew it wasn’t up to him, but he was going to damn well try to keep him around. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was dark before he looked up again, no one had disturbed him until now and Peter still hadn’t woken up. It was just a knock on the door, and Juno didn’t want to call out and risk waking Peter, so he forced himself to get up and answer it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had expected it to be Cecil standing at the door, wondering when Juno would reappear to the world, and Juno very nearly tripped over himself to get away when he saw what was standing in front of the door instead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was no other way to describe it, they were just-- </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong. </span>
  </em>
  <span>They were tall, violently thin, with masses of reddish-blonde hair that fell in thick waves almost to their waist. Their skin was nearly as white as the wall that their much, much too long fingers were splayed against, but the tips of their ears, nose and the cut of their cheekbones were bright pink like makeup. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they grinned at Juno their mouth stretched much too far up their face, showing teeth that were just a little too sharp. They waved, and the sharp tips of their fingers almost brushed the ceiling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello, Juno,” they said, and their voice was metallic and raspy around the edges, like they were speaking through a distorted microphone. Juno really rather wanted to reach for his gun, but he hadn’t put it back on after the party.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their eyes were very, very wrong. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My name is Salem,” the creature said smoothly, and Juno remembered that he and Cecil had talked about this...this </span>
  <em>
    <span>thing </span>
  </em>
  <span>the last time he had visited Night Vale. He just really hadn’t expected it to be so...so </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The thing stepped into the room, crowding Juno with its much too-tall body, its horribly long fingertips brushing the floor and hair curling around its body like a thick, red-gold cloud. Its clothes were too bright to look at, patterned in pink and orange and green, colors that clashed horribly and made his head swim. Juno swallowed, taking several more steps back until he was at the edge of the bed, putting one hand protectively on Peter’s chest. The Distortion pouted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Juno dear, there’s no reason to be so defensive,” it purred in that weird voice, putting a hand to its cheek. It sighed, then there wasn’t an abrupt change, but it was somehow smaller, with hands the right size and a smile that stretched a normal amount. The eyes were still wrong, though, and Juno supposed that he couldn’t really do anything about that. “Is that better?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Much,” Juno said faintly. Salem grinned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wonnnnderful,” it said in a soft hiss, dragging it out with a hint of an accent that Juno hadn’t noticed before. “Oh but darling, you’re still afraid,” it said, sounding absolutely gleeful about that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno scowled. “Let me grab my gun and I’ll show you just how afraid I am.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It laughed, and the sound grated in the air, utterly inhuman. “You’re being quite rude, you know that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno really didn’t like how soft its voice had become, or the way it had stopped moving in the middle of the room with that eerie smile and those wrong eyes. Juno knew he shouldn’t antagonize it, but the words fell out of his mouth anyway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well who wouldn’t be afraid of something like you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Salem narrowed its eyes. “I do not like you, Detective.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not a detective anymore.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now you’re just a dick.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It almost made Juno laugh to hear an Eldritch horror call him a dick. It was oddly human. Salem reached out and set a hand on his shoulder, and Juno shuddered so hard he almost fell over. Its hands were heavy and ice cold, and even though they looked normal, he could feel those overly long fingertips scrape against his back through the t-shirt, tingling like an electric shock and making revulsion rise so abruptly up Juno’s throat he was almost sick right then and there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll bring you back when you’ve learned respect,” Salem said suddenly, a note of heavy decision in its voice. It smiled, that horrible smile that curled nearly up to its ears and showed far too many shark teeth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Juno said, panic rising in his throat, then Salem shoved him hard in the chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno expected to fall back onto the bed next to Peter but instead he was falling through open air, wind whistling past his ears and through his hair. He was falling through a pit, walls swirling and flashing around him in a rainbow of neon and bright lights that made his head spin and ache and made every bone in his body burn beneath his skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The point of light above him that Salem had pushed him through grew smaller and smaller until it shut and he was free falling in the dark and the neon that felt like he was dissolving in one of Cecil Kanagawa’s raves. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He slammed into something hard and it gave way beneath him, swinging open. He hit the ground for a second time a second later, all the air knocked out of his lungs. The bright yellow door swung shut above him and disappeared, leaving him on a dark, dusty floor in what he assumed to be a filing office, what with all the metal cabinets around. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a long moment Juno laid there, struggling to breathe out of lungs that felt collapsed, staring at the space where the door had disappeared. All he could think about was that that </span>
  <em>
    <span>thing</span>
  </em>
  <span> was still in the room with Peter, doing who knows what to him--</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A door somewhere else opened, and Juno somehow managed to raise his head. A tall woman was in the doorway, a dark red hijab covering her hair and a mix of mild surprise and disdain on her face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jon? I found the source of that noise.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A short, haggard looking man appeared behind the woman a moment later, staring over the top of his glasses at Juno with unsettlingly vibrant green eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, good god,” Jon sighed, settling his glasses on top of his head so he could pinch the bridge of his nose. “Basira, will you please go get Daisy? The Distortion is still messing with us, apparently.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The woman, Basira, nodded and left. Jon and Juno stared at each other, and Juno was the first to break, clearing his throat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So. Mind telling me where I am?” Juno said delicately, not getting up quite yet. Jon regarded him warily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Magnus Institute, in London.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juno frowned. “What year?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jon started slightly. “Uh, pardon?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What year is it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Er. 2018.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck,” Juno sighed, and put his head back down on the floor. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I will not be denied my hyperfixation. I cannot get any of these podcasts out of my fucking skull. send help. (and comments. the next series will begin next week)</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>honestly, I could very easily write a part two because we all know that Cecil (and by now, Carlos) is immortal, so... comment for a part two? thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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